Waste removal

Sunday

Apr 2, 2017 at 6:00 AM

By Adam Wagner, Gatehouse Media

EASTERN NORTH CAROLINA -- A farm buyout program implemented by the state after Hurricane Floyd is widely credited with helping limit Hurricane Matthew's impact on the pork industry, and a similar proposal is now on the table.

After Floyd killed 21,474 swine, flooded 55 waste lagoons and caused lagoon breaches at six farms, the state used $18.7 million in Clean Water Management Trust Fund grants to purchase conservation easements on 43 farms in 100-year flood plains. Matthew resulted in the deaths of 2,800 swine, 14 flooded lagoons and one farm with a partial breach, according to the N.C. Pork Council.

"We applaud the success of the previous voluntary buyout program, and we think everyone agrees that it was a successful initiative," said Andy Curliss, the Pork Council's CEO. "If there are discussions about another voluntary buyout program, we want to play a productive role in those."

Discussions between the N.C. Pork Council, environmental groups and some legislators have already begun regarding another buyout program, which could be included in the upcoming state budget.

'A win-win'

Matthew Starr, the Upper Neuse Riverkeeper for Sound Rivers, has played a key role in those talks.

"It's a win-win," Starr said. "It helps the facilities that want to remove themselves out of the 100-year flood plain, for whatever reason they have, and it helps remove the most immediate risk to water quality."

The Neuse, which reaches flood stage at 18 feet, crested at a record 29.74 feet in Golsboro on Oct. 12, 2016, according to National Weather Service records. Two days later, the NWS gauge in Kinston recorded a record crest of 28.31 feet.

Photos taken by waterkeepers during Matthew's flooding show flood waters topping lagoons in several locations, particularly near Goldsboro. Once those lagoons flood, concerns develop about the impact on water quality.

"The majority of it is just the feces and the urine that hogs produce a lot of," Starr said. "When it is introduced into our rivers and streams, they become polluted."

Starr has identified 62 farms he believes would be eligible for a buyout. Of those, he would like to see about 30 accept an offer.

Curliss, the Pork Council CEO, said he had not evaluated each one of those facilities, but believes some of them may not be eligible if the state offers more buyouts.

"Hog farms were not immune to the impact of the floodwaters, but the impact on the industry was minimal, especially compared to Hurricane Floyd," he wrote in an email.

'Until we ran out of money'

Mark Rice, a North Carolina State University extension specialist who works with the department's animal waste management team, said another buyout program would likely further reduce the economic and environmental risks during flooding.

If the program were similar to Floyd's, the state would purchase development rights and ban swine farming -- and lagoons -- on the land. The farmers retain ownership and could still use it for low-intensity agriculture such as pasture-based beef or row crops.

"They're getting compensated for the loss of income from the animal production part of it," Rice said, "but they still have use of the land for other uses for crop production or whatever alternative uses."

After Floyd, 138 facilities applied for the state's program. Of those, 43 offers were extended, with Division of Soil and Water Conservation creating a rubric to assess facilities and appropriating the funds.

"We sorted them all by bang for the buck and then we went down the list until we ran out of money," said David Williams, the division's assistant director.

In total, the 43 facilities that accepted the buyout represent as many as 60,550 hogs, 106 waste lagoons and 1,218 acres that will be covered by conservation easements, according to the program's latest update.

Williams' division is in the process of completing its final of the 43 agreements, possibly just in time to start administering a very similar program.

Reporter Adam Wagner can be reached at 910-343-2389 or Adam.Wagner@StarNewsOnline.com.

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